Liam Payne, a former member of the boy band One Direction which captured the hearts of many young fans, died on Oct. 16 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Payne died at 31 years old leaving so many loved ones behind including his seven-year-old son, Bear.
Unfortunately, Payne’s death has been used for clicks and media attention and I think that opens a whole conversation on how the media as a whole covers celebrity deaths.
Every other TikTok I would see on my “For You Page” would be about fan theories of what really happened but prosecutors have finally come out with an official report.
The initial shock still hasn’t worn off for me. It’s not necessarily because I was part of the One Direction fandom, but it’s because of all the lengths media outlets have gone to publish every single detail of Payne’s death.The musician's body was transported to the morgue where a full autopsy was conducted and a substance by the name of “pink cocaine” was found, according to a Monday article from ABC News.
“Pink cocaine” is a type of recreational drug that is mixed with a variety of substances, according to the same article.
Payne was one of the five members of One Direction, which was brought together on the reality show “X Factor UK” in 2010 until the band was separated in 2015, according to an Oct. 17 article for AP News.
Admittedly, I was not up to date with One Direction beyond their hit songs but those closest to me were so invested in the fandom, it was difficult to not admire the talent that the boy band had when they were still together.
Payne was found dead after falling from a third-floor balcony of the Casa Sur Hotel, according to AP News.
Karla Berbera, a third-year business finance student, said she grew up listening to One Direction and considers herself a big fan since she was 12-years-old.
“There have been so many gross news articles that have been covering this story and some of the things they say (are) just disrespectful,” Berbera said. “(Payne) has a son and a family that will see all of that, so it sucks. Everyone is just criticizing his life and that wouldn't happen if he wasn’t a celebrity.”
When a celebrity dies, there seems to be a sense of eagerness to be the first one to report the news. Among these is the news outlet was TMZ, which was the first to release the details of Payne’s death in an invasive manner.
Images of the incident that took place at Casa Sur Hotel in Buenos Aires were published by TMZ, creating an uproar amongst fans regarding disbelief that the tabloid would seemingly go to these lengths to get attention.
As a journalist and as a human being, it does make me uncomfortable how quick TMZ was to post about Payne’s passing. It paints journalists as attention seekers who will disregard the passing of someone just to be the first to post about the story and ethics have just completely left the building.
Unfortunately, almost everyone that I have talked to about Payne’s death has mentioned the TMZ article but their grievances were accompanied by disgust for leaking images of the incident.
Michael Babcock, executive producer from TMZ, defended the company’s actions by insisting they posted the image of Payne to confirm that it was the famous British singer, according to a Friday article from Manchester Evening News.
There have been celebrity deaths in the past that did not require any photographic evidence to prove to the audience that their passing was real, making the leaking of images so unnecessary to me.
The way media outlets and TikTok creators are handling the coverage of the incident is exploiting Payne and his memory.
They are weaponizing his popularity amongst his fan base to continue getting attention, which would be considered invasive if this was not about a celebrity death.
Lidia Rocha, a graduate Library and Information Science student, said she saw the TMZ article with Payne’s body before it was eventually taken down.
“When I first saw the article, I thought (that) TMZ was spreading misinformation ain’t no way. It wasn't until I started seeing other sources reporting on this,” Rocha said, “My heart sank. I was in complete denial. (Payne) was someone who I grew up listening to and it just didn't make sense to me.”
Those photos paired with the sudden news of Payne’s passing felt like it was only for shock value.
If TMZ was interested in delivering news appropriately and respectfully, they should have waited until an autopsy was concluded before sharing speculation of what had occurred moments before Payne’s passing.
When I first saw the images circulating the internet, I had to take time to process what I just saw and had to question whether it was true.
It’s sometimes harder when talking about celebrities that we have grown up with and kind of just expected or assumed they would be here for a long time.
It genuinely infuriated me to see TMZ show the world what took place before Payne’s death and his body posthumously. This disregards Payne and his loved ones, and the conversation shifted from grieving Payne to fixating on TMZ’s coverage.
Images of Payne’s hotel room also surfaced in several news outlets, adding a layer to the already ongoing speculation of what happened before the singer's death.
The images posted by The New York Post showed a smashed television, a half-empty glass of champagne, foil and some sort of powder-like substance.
Argentinian officials received a 911 call around 5 p.m on Oct. 16, the same day of his passing, about a rowdy guest who was creating a scene in their hotel room, according to the same Oct. 17 article from The New York Post.
Payne posted on his Snapchat story that he was in Argentina to attend a Niall Horan concert and he was accompanied by his girlfriend, Kate Cassidy, according to an Oct. 17 article from the LA Times.
Several days before the incident, Payne’s ex-fiance, Maya Henry blocked Payne for allegedly spamming her as well as weaponizing his fans to go against Henry, according to an Oct. 16 New York Post article.
Payne was reportedly dropped by his music label, Universal Music, days before his death, according to an Oct. 17 Daily Mail article.
With these instances coming out, it just seems like the timing was convenient to build this story to create more speculation on the moments leading up to Payne’s passing instead of just focusing on the situation that occurred and the impact on his family.
When talking to people about Payne’s death, one thing that stood out to me was that everyone felt that it was such important news that they had to tell someone else and share their grief for Payne.
I was in the downstairs area of my sorority painting a mural when suddenly one of my sisters broke the news. The downstairs area broke out with shock, outrage and disbelief.
I immediately searched it up online to confirm and was left stunned when so many sources were confirming his passing.
Payne will be remembered as the artist who went into the “X Factor” looking for an opportunity to show his talent. Anytime I listen to a One Direction song or even one of the band members' singles, I just think of Payne and it does tug on my heart.
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